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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. swing — to play on
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. deal — to handle
  6. content — the amount
  7. cell — a phone
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. swing — music
  11. track — a song
  12. sharp — clever
  13. content — happy
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. game — wild animals
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. game — a match
  20. swing — in golf
  21. cell — in biology
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a path
  24. cell — in a prison

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com